Immigration: Bari, 127 migrants rescued by finance police

Egyptians and Palestinians, many minors, 7 hospitalised

(ANSAmed) - Bari, July 16 - Finance police intercepted a fishing
boat carring 127 Egyptian and Palestinian illegal immigrants and
accompanied them to the port of Bari early Monday morning.

The migrants, including numerous minors allegedly aged
between 14 and 15, had been sailing for just under a week and
landed in a poor condition; seven required hospital treatment.
The boat had been intercepted Saturday evening by an
Icelandic plane coordinated by the naval air operations base at
Taranto as part of international anti-immigration operations 25
nautical miles from San Cataldo, in Puglia's southern Salento
region, and monitored for around 48 hours.
Finance police drew alongside the boat at 3.40 am Monday
after it entered territorial waters. The migrants reached the
port of Bari at 5.30 am.
Initial checks suggest the traffickers could be among the
migrants and they are thought to be Egyptian. (ANSAmed).